Heroin dealer sent to prison

A Sandusky man received a 17-month prison term Wednesday for selling heroin to a confidential informant.

In early February, Jedidiah A. Wimer, 21, pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in heroin in exchange for prosecutors dismissed two similar charges in connection with incidents on Sept. 25 and 26. He was convicted of an Oct. 11 buy-bust coordinated by the Norwalk Police Department.

Huron County Common Pleas Judge Jim Conway told Wimer he would consider releasing him early from prison into a community-based corrections facility "if things go well" for him behind bars. Defendants spend four to six months in a CBCF, a form of prison which focuses on substance abuse treatment and education. Wimer can apply for early release after being in prison for 30 days.

The defendant, whose driver's license was suspended for six months, must reimburse police $40 for the cost of drug testing.

Defense attorney Ben Chapman said he hopes Wimer can have adjust his attitude while he is in prison and will be a law-abiding citizen afterward. His client was eligible for a prison term on the fourth-degree felony because he had been charged with a violence-based misdemeanor in the last two years.

Wimer's brother, Jacob, 23, also of Sandusky, originally was charged with complicity to trafficking in heroin in connection with the same Oct. 11 incident when he reportedly was driving his girlfriend's vehicle. On Feb. 10, he pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice. Jacob Wimer faces six to 12 months behind bars when he is sentenced May 14.